Tryhard Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 (edited) While I don't really know the situation in Baltimore, the closest thing we had was similiar riots back in 2011 allegedly sparked from racist brutality from police killing an unarmed man. Unfortunately, there was more than a few that took this to mean that they had the ability to cause chaos and so mass fires and looting and even a few deaths I believe took place in various cities in the UK. To be honest, I saw these people as opportunistic thugs. I did agree with those that did actually want to try and come to a resolution with the police, but that seemed to more or less break away. Still, even when compared to the US, I think that police are actually generally kept more on track. The police receive basically no supervision in the US from what I've seen. Edited May 3, 2015 by Tryhard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irysa Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 (edited) The media coverage of Baltimore has been appalling. They are more concerned with the property damage than the fact a man has lost his life. The windows of CVS are insured; Freddie Gray is never coming back to life. The media focus on what is unusual, that's what creates a "valuable" news story. Sad to say, "young black male dies because of cops" is barely news, but "violent riots" is out of the ordinary, so it draws focus. This is why rioting actually works; It draws attention to problems, since it makes people sit up and pay attention. That being said, don't pretend that there wasn't a lot of disgusting reprehensible shit going on here. I respect anti-establishment riots, but plenty of local community stores got trashed in this mess too (you can just search for more if you want), not just CVS. Additionally, there was some asshole who stabbed a fire hose repeatedly, (for your own sanity, don't read the YT comments) and that actually endangered the life of Firefighters. I also heard some reports of people actually chucking bricks and bottles at Ambulances, although those aren't as verified. I get it, people are pissed off, but fucking with emergency services who are trying to save lives is way over the line. You wouldn't want someone fucking with them if they were trying to save your life/stop your house from burning down. Wrecking somebody else's future that they worked to try to create doesn't bring back a dead man. Edited May 3, 2015 by Irysa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blah the Prussian Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 The media coverage of Baltimore has been appalling. They are more concerned with the property damage than the fact a man has lost his life. The windows of CVS are insured; Freddie Gray is never coming back to life. Furthermore, the rhetoric that is being used is disgraceful. Writing off an entire movement as "a bunch of thugs" undermines the actual problems facing the city. No one is calling the police officers who killed Freddie Gray "thugs". MLK Jr once said that "the most horrible and pervasive form of violence is poverty" but the media does not seem to care. American media, yeah. If you want relatively unbiased coverage BBC is a good place to look. Furthermore, in all fairness, we already know that Freddie Grey is dead. Another way to look at it is that whites riot too, over a bunch of tepid shit! But yeah, BBC has good coverage of the events. Why did we have to win the American Revolution? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crysta Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 (edited) Disgusting reprehensible shit begets more disgusting reprehensible shit. It doesn't absolve the rioters from any responsibility by any means (and I'm sure they're gonna caught and dealt with accordingly by Baltimore's pristine policing methods), but things don't get changed when you're quiet about it. CVS and the fire hose can be replaced. Property is property. And the non-violent riots aren't as exciting so my bet is you're not going to hear about them. Edited May 3, 2015 by Crysta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mango Giamatti Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 (edited) The media focus on what is unusual, that's what creates a "valuable" news story. Sad to say, "young black male dies because of cops" is barely news, but "violent riots" is out of the ordinary, so it draws focus. This is why rioting actually works; It draws attention to problems, since it makes people sit up and pay attention. Furthermore, in all fairness, we already know that Freddie Grey is dead. Journalism is much more than simply reporting facts. Journalism is presenting facts in context to the situation, while outlining the underlying societal causes of the tragedy, and possibly proposing a solution to prevent the horrors from happening again. But CNN would rather show a mom beating her son for participating in the riots. That being said, don't pretend that there wasn't a lot of disgusting reprehensible shit going on here. Of course looting and violence is bad. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't attempt to understand rioters. That doesn't change that this is the result of years of repression and abuse. but plenty of local community stores got trashed in this mess too (you can just search for more if you want), not just CVS. That doesn't change much. Broken spines are much worse than broken windows. They are far more deserving of the media's time. American media, yeah. If you want relatively unbiased coverage BBC is a good place to look. Yeah, BBC is cool (I haven't actually seen their coverage of Baltimore, but in most cases they are good) and Al Jazera is too, but their viewership in America is unfortunately too low. CNN/Fox News do so much more damage. Edited May 3, 2015 by Zvarri! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blah the Prussian Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Yeah, BBC is cool (I haven't actually seen their coverage of Baltimore, but in most cases they are good) and Al Jazera is too, but their viewership in America is unfortunately too low. CNN/Fox News do so much more damage. Well, hey, it's Fox News. Of course they're going to be biased as fuck. I think that part of why Americans watch it is that they want to watch a news program that agrees with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crysta Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 CNN > Fox News. I think people just group them together because they need someone just as bad on the other side (when there really isn't). I think MSNBC is far more biased in the other direction, personally, even if I happen to agree with/enjoy some of their coverage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blah the Prussian Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 CNN > Fox News. I think people just group them together because they need someone just as bad on the other side (when there really isn't). I think MSNBC is far more biased in the other direction, personally, even if I happen to agree with/enjoy some of their coverage. Yeah, MSNBC is extremely biased. It's not as biased as Fox News, however. Man, living in Europe makes me feel like I don't actually have to care about morons like Bill O'rielly. It's awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Banzai Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Historically, riots have worked as a way to spark progressive change at an infrastructural level. Media sensationalism actually helps the cause of the people doing the rioting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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